


Sometimes we must grow stronger and you can't be stronger in the dark

by crabmoss



Category: Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys - My Chemical Romance (Album), The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys (Comic)
Genre: Brothers, Found Family, Memory, Nostalgia, Shenanigans, death mention
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-22
Updated: 2020-05-22
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:16:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,060
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24325645
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crabmoss/pseuds/crabmoss
Summary: Cherri Cola remembers his life with Fun Ghoul from the very first to the very last time they talked.
Comments: 3
Kudos: 14





	Sometimes we must grow stronger and you can't be stronger in the dark

**Author's Note:**

> Cherri and Ghoul are adoptive brothers, you can’t change my mind. I hope you enjoy!

Cherri Cola remembered the first time he met Fun Ghoul. He was sitting in the station, getting ready for his poetry segment later in the day, when Show Pony barged into the station with… something or other. It was a kid, crying.

“Heya Cherri.” Show Pony said as they set the kid on one of the station tables. He wouldn’t stop crying and he was so  _ loud _ . “Shh, shh, here,” Show Pony handed him a small cactus figurine from Dr. Death Defying’s desk to hold onto. “I’ll get ya fixed up.” 

“What happened to ‘im?” Cherri asked. He hadn’t gotten a good luck at the kid, a rarity in the first place, and he knew a hurt kid was bad news.

“Stitches on his face busted.” Pony was putting bandages on the spot in question. “Who did these?” They softly asked the kid, who’d calmed down substantially since entering the station.

“Muh-me.” The kid sniffled.

Cherri shared a concerned look with Show Pony. This kid did his own stitches? He had to be what, five? “How old are you?” Cherri asked him.

“Six.” The kid said, still holding tight onto the cactus.

Oh so he was six, because that was so much better than five. Pony and Cherri exchanged another look before Show Pony asked another question. “What’s your name, kiddo?” 

”Fun Ghoul.” The kid figured out the cactus could bend, and laughed as he flipped it back and forth. He had a childish laugh, good for a six year old and not easy to forget.

“Nice to meet ya, Fun Ghoul.” Pony picked him off the counter and set him on the floor, presumably to continue what he’d already been doing. “D’ya wanna stay here?”

Fun Ghoul nodded. “Yeah!”

Cherri smiled. He knew the radio station would do a good job of looking after him. They did for Cherri years ago, after all.

—

The second event Cherri remembers was when Ghoul joined the four man banger cell called the Fab Four. They were like the gods of the desert, everyone knew their names. They had one of the biggest numbers over their head that any Killjoy has ever gotten- and it was for them alive.

Ghoul had become the demolition expert and medic pretty fast. The medic part came from growing up at the station, Cherri knew that, but the bombs were his own thing. He didn’t pick that up, he was just good at it. Everyday, Cherri was surprised Ghoul hadn’t died yet, but he just seemed unkillable.

Ghoul came to visit the station about once a week, and the interaction was almost always the same.

“Still alive, Ghoul?” Dr. D asked as Ghoul entered.

Ghoul laughed that memorable laugh of his. “Still alive, Doc?”

Show Pony came out of nowhere to tackle Ghoul in a hug, but Ghoul was always ready for it and spun them around instead. “One of these days.” Pony swore.

“You can try, but I know your tricks, Show.”

Cherri was always the last one to be greeted. It might’ve been because he was quieter than the others, but his interaction with Ghoul was always so genuine, too.

“Hiya Cher, how‘s it goin’?” Ghoul came over and sat on Cherri’s desk, who promptly shoved him off. Ghoul barely sputtered and normally caught himself, rarely spending any time on the floor.

“Oh, y’know…” Cherri doesn’t want to recount the whole thing, but he and Ghoul almost always got into an hour long conversation about the most useless thing. He saw Ghoul as a younger brother, and he treated him as such.

—

Cherri remembered the first week Ghoul didn’t come to visit. The week the Fab Four died. He wasn’t there, even though he should have been, and he couldn’t forgive himself for letting the Fab Four die, for letting his brother die. 

He cried that night, when he found out what had happened. He failed and they lost their fight. That was the last time he picked up a gun for years.

—

Cherri remembered two years later, when a ‘joy who looked a lot like eighteen year old Ghoul, scar and all, wandered into the station. He looked expectantly at Dr. Death Defying, like he was expecting him to say something, and that’s because he  _ was _ . It  _ was _ Fun Ghoul, not some look-alike.

“Still alive, Fun Ghoul?” Dr. D asked.

Ghoul nodded. “Still alive, Doc.” It wasn’t a joking question this time, it was a confirmation. He was still alive, even though the rest of his crew was dead.

Cherri didn’t bother to ask how, because Ghoul was still alive. He got up from his station and used his arm to pull Ghoul into as tight a hug as he could, and Ghoul returned it tighter.

“Don’t fucking scare me again.” Cherri yelled at him through their hug.

Ghoul laughed his unforgettable laugh. “I can’t promise ya anythin’, Cher.”

—

Cherri remembered the last time he ever saw Ghoul, shortly before Cherri was killed. He remembered how Ghoul still looked the same, eighteen, scar, black hair, ambition. But he had changed too, he’d grown up right before Cherri’s eyes and learned his lessons. He wasn’t as loud or tricky anymore, but he was still Ghoul.

“You’re doing really well with the Girl, Cher.” They were sitting together in the lawn chairs outside WKIL.

“I am?” Cherri didn’t really know if he was, so it was nice to have confirmation from one of the people who helped raise her. “Thanks, Ghoul.” They sat in silence for another minute before Cherri had a proposition for him. “Why don’t ya come in an’ see ‘er? I think she’d be happy to see you again.”

Ghoul nodded, considering. “I don’t think I could, I still look the same as when she saw me die, and I just…” Ghoul trailed off, looking off somewhere, Cherri couldn’t where. “It doesn’t feel right without the rest of ‘em.”

Cherri put his hand on Ghoul’s. “I understand, do what ya need.”

Ghoul got in one last statement before Cherri never saw him again. “I know it seems selfish, but I just can’t, I’m sorry.” Ghoul grabbed Cherri’s hand before standing up and gathering his things. “See ya again soon, Cher. I’ve got some stuff to take care of.”

“See ya, Ghoul.” Was the last thing Cherri ever said to his brother while alive.

**Author's Note:**

> I don’t know where this one came from, but I’ve never really looked at Ghoul and Cherri before and I liked how it turned out


End file.
